EP1376161A2 - Optisches Beugungselement und damit ausgestattetes optisches System - Google Patents

Optisches Beugungselement und damit ausgestattetes optisches System Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1376161A2
EP1376161A2 EP03253415A EP03253415A EP1376161A2 EP 1376161 A2 EP1376161 A2 EP 1376161A2 EP 03253415 A EP03253415 A EP 03253415A EP 03253415 A EP03253415 A EP 03253415A EP 1376161 A2 EP1376161 A2 EP 1376161A2
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Prior art keywords
optical element
diffractive optical
diffraction
grating
element according
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French (fr)
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EP1376161A3 (de
EP1376161B1 (de
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Takehiko Nakai
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Canon Inc
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Canon Inc
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B5/00—Optical elements other than lenses
    • G02B5/18—Diffraction gratings
    • G02B5/1876—Diffractive Fresnel lenses; Zone plates; Kinoforms
    • G02B5/189—Structurally combined with optical elements not having diffractive power
    • G02B5/1895—Structurally combined with optical elements not having diffractive power such optical elements having dioptric power
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B27/00—Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00
    • G02B27/0025—Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00 for optical correction, e.g. distorsion, aberration
    • G02B27/005—Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00 for optical correction, e.g. distorsion, aberration for correction of secondary colour or higher-order chromatic aberrations
    • G02B27/0056—Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups G02B1/00 - G02B26/00, G02B30/00 for optical correction, e.g. distorsion, aberration for correction of secondary colour or higher-order chromatic aberrations by using a diffractive optical element

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to diffractive optical elements, and more particularly to layered (laminated) diffractive optical elements, as well as optical systems and optical apparatuses using the same.
  • Methods using diffractive optical elements utilize the physical phenomenon that chromatic aberration at refractive surfaces and diffractive surfaces occurs in opposite directions with respect to light rays of a certain reference wavelength.
  • diffractive optical elements can be provided with an aspheric lens effect by appropriately changing the period of their periodic structure, so that they are also effective for reducing other aberrations besides chromatic aberration.
  • the diffraction efficiency of the diffracted light of the design order needs to be sufficiently high for the entire used wavelength region, and it is important to adequately consider the spectral distribution of the diffraction efficiency for the design order as well as the behavior of the diffracted light of orders other than the design order.
  • Fig. 16 shows a Diffractive Optical Element made of a substrate 302 and a diffraction grating 301 formed on the substrate 302 (referred to as "single-layer DOE" in the following).
  • single-layer DOE a diffraction grating 301 formed on the substrate 302
  • the characteristics of the diffraction efficiency for the specific order when this single-layer DOE is formed on a certain surface are shown in Fig. 17.
  • the horizontal axis marks the wavelength of incident light
  • the vertical axis marks the diffraction efficiency (this is also the same in all other figures illustrating diffraction efficiency).
  • the values of the diffraction efficiency are the ratios of the light amount of diffracted light at each order with respect to the light amount of the entire transmitted light, and light reflected at grating boundary surfaces is not considered, as it would only complicate the explanations.
  • the single-layer DOE shown in Fig. 16 is designed such that the diffraction efficiency becomes highest at the used wavelength region for the first diffraction order (bold solid line in Fig. 17), so the design order is the first order.
  • the design order becomes highest at a certain wavelength (below, this wavelength is referred to as the "design wavelength"), and gradually becomes lower at other wavelengths.
  • Diffraction light at other orders increases by the same rate as the diffraction efficiency at the design order decreases, and this diffraction light at other orders becomes flare light.
  • Fig. 17 also shows the diffraction efficiency of other orders near the design order (namely zero-th order and second order, which are orders plus or minus 1 of the first order (design order)).
  • the diffractive optical element proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-98118 is a diffractive optical element having a structure in which element portions 202 and 203 that respectively include a single-layer DOE are placed in proximity to one another sandwiching an air layer 210 between them (in the following, diffractive optical elements with such a structure are referred to as "layered DOES").
  • a high diffraction efficiency is achieved with grating thicknesses of 10 ⁇ m or less.
  • the diffraction efficiencies of the diffraction orders plus or minus 1 of the design order can be better suppressed than with the single-layer DOE of Fig. 17.
  • the diffraction efficiency of the design order is improved greatly compared to single-layer DOEs, attaining a high diffraction efficiency of at least 94% over the entire used wavelength region, and at least 98% in the main wavelength region of 450 nm to 650 nm.
  • flare light of unnecessary diffraction orders is favorably reduced to 2% or less over the entire used wavelength region, and 0.6% or less in the main wavelength region of 450 nm to 650 nm.
  • image-taking is generally performed not such that the light source is properly exposed, but such that the object other than the light source is suitably exposed.
  • one embodiment of a diffractive optical element of the present invention includes a plurality of diffraction gratings made of materials with different Abbe numbers, the plurality of diffraction gratings being layered (laminated) with each other. Moreover, the partial dispersion ratio with respect to a g-line and a F-line of the material constituting at least one of the plurality of diffraction gratings satisfies the condition represented by a specified expression (referred to as "Expression (1)" in the following).
  • Fig. 1(A) is a front view of a diffractive optical element according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention
  • Fig. 1(B) is a lateral view of that diffractive optical element
  • Fig. 2 shows a partially enlarged view of the cross-sectional shape taken along the line A-A' of the diffractive optical element in Fig. 1(A). It should be noted that in Fig. 2, the scale in the grating depth direction has been drawn out of proportion.
  • the diffractive optical element 1 includes a first element portion 2 and a second element portion 3.
  • a first diffraction grating 8 is formed on the first element portion 2, and a second diffraction grating 9 is formed on the second element portion 3.
  • the first element portion 2 and the second element portion 3 are layered (laminated) in proximity to each other, sandwiching an air layer 10 between them.
  • the first element portion 2, the second element portion 3 and the air layer 10 together function as one diffractive optical element.
  • the first and second diffraction grating 8 and 9 have a concentric circular grating shape, and by changing their grating pitch in the radial direction, they act as a lens. Furthermore, the first diffraction grating 8 and the second diffraction grating 9 have substantially the same grating pitch distribution. That is to say, at equal positions in the radial direction, their grating pitch is the same.
  • the first element portion 2 includes a first transparent substrate 4, and a first grating formation layer made of a grating base portion 6 disposed on the first transparent substrate 4 and a first diffraction grating 8 formed integrally with the grating base portion 6.
  • a grating surface 8a is formed at the border between the first diffraction grating 8 and the air layer 10.
  • the second element portion 3 includes a second transparent substrate 5, and a second grating formation layer made of a grating base portion 7 disposed on the second transparent substrate 5 and a second diffraction grating 9 formed integrally with the grating base portion 7.
  • a grating surface 9a is formed at the border between the second diffraction grating 9 and the air layer 10.
  • the height of the air layer 10 is set such that a distance (interval) D is attained between the edges defined by the grating side surfaces and the grating surfaces 8a and 9a of the two diffraction gratings 8 and 9.
  • the dimensions of the first and second element portions 2 and 3 satisfy the following conditions: d 1 /P 1 ⁇ 1/6 d 2 /P 2 ⁇ 1/6 where P 1 and P 2 are the grating pitch (in ⁇ m) of the first and second element portions 2 and 3 (namely, the first and second diffraction gratings 8 and 9), and d 1 and d 2 are the grating thicknesses (in ⁇ m) of the first and second diffraction gratings 8 and 9.
  • the wavelength region of the light incident on the diffractive optical element 1, that is, the used wavelength region is the visible wavelength region.
  • the materials constituting the first and second diffraction gratings 8 and 9 as well as their grating thicknesses are selected such that the diffraction efficiency of the first-order diffracted light becomes high over the entire visible wavelength region.
  • the conditions under which the diffraction efficiency of diffraction light of a certain order becomes maximal for a design wavelength ⁇ 0 is that when light rays are incident perpendicularly to the base surface (indicated by a broken line in Fig. 16) of the diffraction grating, then the optical path length difference at the peaks and valleys of the diffraction grating (that is, the difference between the optical path length of light rays passing through peaks and that of light rays passing through valleys) becomes an integer multiple of the wavelength of the light rays.
  • n 01 is the refractive index of the material of the diffraction grating for light of the wavelength ⁇ 0
  • d is the grating thickness
  • m is the diffraction order.
  • Expression (2) includes a wavelength term, the expression is, at a given order, only true for the design wavelength, and the diffraction efficiency drops from the maximum value for all wavelengths other than the design wavelength.
  • ⁇ ( ⁇ ) sinc 2 [p ⁇ M - (n 1 ( ⁇ ) - 1) d/ ⁇ ⁇ ]
  • M is the order of diffraction light to be evaluated
  • n 1 ( ⁇ ) is the refractive index of the material of the diffraction grating for light of the wavelength ⁇ .
  • sinc 2 (x) is the function represented by ⁇ sin(x)/x ⁇ 2 .
  • the basics are the same, and since all layers together act as one diffractive optical element, the optical path length difference between peaks and valleys of the diffraction grating formed at the border between the materials (including air or the like) constituting the layers is determined, and the dimensions of the grating shape etc. are set such that that optical path length difference for the combination of all diffraction gratings becomes an integer multiple of the wavelength.
  • n 01 is the refractive index of the material of the first diffraction grating 8 at the first element portion 2 for light of the wavelength ⁇ 0
  • n 02 is the refractive index of the material of the second diffraction grating 9 at the second element portion 3 for light of the wavelength ⁇ 0
  • d 1 and d 2 are the grating thicknesses of the first diffraction grating 8 and the second diffraction grating 9, respectively.
  • the diffraction orders of light diffracted downwards from the zero-th order diffracted light in Fig. 2 are denoted as positive diffraction orders, whereas the diffraction orders of light diffracted upwards from the zero-th order diffracted light in Fig. 2 are denoted as negative diffraction orders.
  • the plus or minus sign for each layer in Expression (3) becomes negative in the case of the first diffraction grating 8 which has a grating shape whose thickness decreases from top to bottom in Fig. 2, and conversely, becomes positive in the case of the second diffraction grating 9 which has a grating shape whose thickness increases from top to bottom in Fig. 2.
  • ⁇ ( ⁇ ) ⁇ (n 1 ( ⁇ ) - 1)d 1 ⁇ (n 2 ( ⁇ ) - 1)d 2
  • n 1 ( ⁇ ) is the refractive index of the material of the first diffraction grating 8 for light of the wavelength ⁇
  • n 2 ( ⁇ ) is the refractive index of the material of the second diffraction grating 9 for light of the wavelength ⁇
  • d 1 and d 2 are the grating thicknesses of the first diffraction grating 8 and the second diffraction grating 9.
  • sinc 2 (x) is the function represented by ⁇ sin(x)/x ⁇ 2 .
  • the diffractive optical element 1 in Fig. 2 the grating surfaces 8a and 9a are formed at the border surface to the air layer 10, but the diffractive optical element of the present invention is not limited to this.
  • a diffraction grating in which a grating surface is formed at the border surface of two different materials (optical materials) that are different from air.
  • Fig. 9(A) shows a diffractive optical element in which diffraction gratings 8 and 9 having different grating thickness make contact with each other
  • Fig. 9(B) shows a diffractive optical element in which diffraction gratings 8 and 9 having the same grating thickness make contact with each other.
  • the grating thickness of the two diffraction gratings 8 and 9 as shown in Fig. 9(B) can also be made equal or not.
  • ⁇ ( ⁇ ) defined in Expression (5) should be close to 1 for all used wavelengths ⁇ .
  • ⁇ ( ⁇ )/ ⁇ should be m in Expression (5).
  • ⁇ ( ⁇ )/ ⁇ should be close to 1.
  • the optical path length difference ⁇ ( ⁇ ) attained from the grating shape needs to change linearly in proportion to the wavelength ⁇ .
  • the wavelength-dependent term in the expression representing the optical path length difference ⁇ ( ⁇ ), namely ⁇ n 1 ( ⁇ )d 1 ⁇ n 2 ( ⁇ ) d 2 needs to be linear. That is to say, refractive index changes due to the wavelength in the material forming the second diffraction grating 9 need to have a constant ratio over the entire used wavelength region with respect to refractive index changes due to the wavelength of the material forming the first diffraction grating 8.
  • n 1 ( ⁇ 1 ) - n 1 ( ⁇ 2 ): n 2 ( ⁇ 1 ) - n 2 ( ⁇ 2 ) n 1 ( ⁇ 3 ) - n 1 ( ⁇ 4 ): n 2 ( ⁇ 3 ) - n 2 ( ⁇ 4 ) where ⁇ 1 , ⁇ 2 , ⁇ 3 and ⁇ 4 indicate any used wavelength.
  • the diffractive optical element 1 with the layered structure shown in Fig. 2 is explained as an example of a structure that substantially satisfies Expression (6).
  • Expression (6) the diffractive optical element 1 shown in Fig. 2 satisfies this condition.
  • Fig. 3 shows the diffraction efficiency characteristics of first-order (design order) diffraction of this diffractive optical element 1
  • Fig. 4 shows the diffraction efficiency characteristics of diffraction of zero-th order and second-order, which are the orders plus or minus 1 of the design order, of this diffractive optical element 1.
  • the diffractive optical element 1 has a design order diffraction efficiency that is improved compared to the diffraction efficiency shown in Figs. 14 and 15, whereas the diffraction efficiencies of the unnecessary orders are reduced, so that less flare light is produced.
  • the diffraction efficiency of the design order is 99.7% or more over the entire visible wavelength region, and correspondingly the flare light of unnecessary orders is 0.05% or less over the entire visible wavelength region, reducing it to about 1/10 of that in diffractive optical elements using conventional materials.
  • the diffraction efficiency of unnecessary orders is only evaluated for zero-th order and second order, which are the orders plus or minus 1 of the design order, but if the flare light of zero-th order and second-order diffraction is reduced, then flare light of other orders can be reduced as well, since the contribution to the flare diminishes the further the order is separated from the design order.
  • Fig. 5 shows the refractive index characteristics in the visible wavelength region of the material described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-98118 and the materials that are characteristic for the present embodiment.
  • the horizontal axis marks the wavelength and the vertical axis marks the refractive index.
  • material 1 denotes the material used for both the second diffraction grating 9 of the present embodiment and the second diffraction grating of the diffraction optical element described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-98118
  • material 2 denotes the material constituting the first diffraction grating 8 of the present embodiment.
  • material 3 denotes the material constituting the first diffraction grating described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-98118.
  • the change of the refractive index of the material 1 with respect to the wavelength is substantially constant, whereas for the material 3, the rate of change is larger or the short-wavelength side.
  • the characteristics of v d are suitable for improving the diffraction efficiency compared to that of single-layered DOES while maintaining the grating thickness thin.
  • various investigations have made it clear that in order to improve the diffraction efficiency characteristics even further, as is the object of the present invention, it is insufficient to adjust only, as conventionally, the evaluation measure of ⁇ d , representing the average refractive index change.
  • Fig. 6 shows the characteristics of the partial dispersion ratio ⁇ g, F with respect to the g-line and the F-line, which is that evaluation measure.
  • the horizontal axis denotes ⁇ d
  • the vertical axis denotes ⁇ g , F .
  • ⁇ g, F is defined as in Expression (8) below, and is an evaluation measure representing the ratio between the change in refractive index on the short-wavelength side and the change in refractive index on the long-wavelength side.
  • n g , F (n g - n F )/(n F - n c )
  • n g , n F , n d and n c are the refractive indices at the g-line, the F-line, the d-line and the C-line, respectively.
  • the material 2 in Fig. 6 is the material used for the first diffraction grating 8 in the present embodiment, and for this material 2, ⁇ g, F has a relatively small value of about 0.3.
  • the material 3 is the material described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-98118, and this material 3 belongs to the ordinary optical materials. Moreover, it can also be seen from Fig. 6 that the material 2 in the present embodiment has ⁇ g,F characteristics that are considerably different from the ⁇ g, F characteristics of the ordinary optical materials including the material described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-98118.
  • Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate the diffraction efficiency of a diffractive optical element using the optical material shown as material 4 in Fig. 6.
  • Fig. 7 shows the diffraction efficiency characteristics for the first order (i.e. the design order)
  • Fig. 8 shows the diffraction efficiency characteristics for the zero-th order and the second order, which are plus or minus 1 of the design order.
  • a high diffraction efficiency is attained that is 97% or more for the entire used wavelength region and 99.5% or more over the main wavelength region of 450 nm to 650 nm.
  • flare light of unnecessary diffraction orders is sufficiently suppressed to about 1/3 of the conventional example, namely to 0.9% or less over the used wavelength region and 0.2% or less over the main wavelength region of 450 nm to 650 nm.
  • the value of ⁇ g, F should be smaller than the straight solid line in Fig. 6, that is to say, an optical material should be used that satisfies the following expression: (1) ⁇ g, F ⁇ (-1/600) ⁇ d + 0.55
  • ITO Indium-Tin Oxide
  • a material as material 2 or material 4 obtained, as proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-74901 (corresponding to the published European Patent Application No. 1065531 A3), by forming ITO into micro-particles with a diameter of nanometer order and mixing those micro-particles into a resin material with which it is easy to form a grating shape,
  • the grating thickness of the diffraction grating can be made small, which is preferable.
  • the Abbe number after mixing the micro-particles is 30 or less, and for this reason, it is desirable that a micro-particle material is used that has an Abbe number of 15 or less.
  • the size (diameter) of the used micro-particles is 1/20 or less of the used wavelength, so that the light is not scattered by the mixed micro-particles.
  • optical glass is used for the material for forming the second diffraction grating 8 and the material for forming the first diffraction grating 9, and if the transparent substrates 4 and 5 shown in Fig. 2 and that optical glass material are the same material, then both can be integrally manufactured, which reduces the number of components and is advantageous with regard to reducing costs.
  • the grating shapes of the diffraction gratings 8 and 9 both satisfy the following expression: (9) d/P ⁇ 1/6 where P is the grating pitch, and d is the grating thickness.
  • the die for resin molding the diffraction gratings 8 and 9 becomes easy to manufacture.
  • Embodiment 1 has been explained for diffractive optical elements (layered DOES) in which the diffraction gratings 8 and 9 are provided on planar substrates 4 and 5, but similar effects as explained for the present embodiment can also be attained when diffraction gratings are provided on curved surfaces, such as the convex or the concave surface of a lens.
  • layered DOES diffractive optical elements
  • this embodiment has been explained for diffractive optical elements using diffraction light with a design order of 1, that is, first-order diffraction light, but the design order is not limited to 1, and also with diffraction light of orders other than the first order, such as the second or the third order, similar effects as explained for the present embodiment can be attained by setting the combined value of the optical path length differences of the diffraction gratings 8 and 9 to the desired design length at the desired design order.
  • Embodiment 1 For comparison with conventional diffractive optical elements, Embodiment 1 has been explained for the case that the two diffraction gratings 8 and 9 are made of two different kinds of materials, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to this.
  • a diffractive optical element in which there are three kind of materials constituting these two diffraction gratings 8, 9 and 11 (the materials of the portions denoted by the numeral references 8, 9 and 11).
  • At least one material should be a material that satisfies Expression (1).
  • a material satisfying Expression (1) is used for the third diffraction grating 11 that is provided between the second diffraction grating 9 and the air layer 10 and in contact with the grating surface 9a of the second diffraction grating 9.
  • D 1 is a distance (interval) from the edges defined by the grating side surfaces and the grating surfaces 8a of the first diffraction grating 8 to a border surface 12 between the third diffraction grating 11 and the air layer 10.
  • D 2 is a distance (interval) from the edges defined by the grating side surfaces and the grating surfaces 9a of the second diffraction grating 9 to the border surface 12 between the third diffraction gating 11 and the air layer 10.
  • Fig. 11 shows the structure of an image-taking (image-forming) optical system of a camera (such as a still camera or a video camera) according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
  • numeral reference 110 denotes a camera
  • numeral reference 101 denotes an image-taking lens.
  • the image-taking lens 101 is constituted of mostly refractive optical elements and the refractive optical element 1 explained in Embodiment 1 in at least one part.
  • the image-taking lens 101 has an aperture stop 102.
  • Numeral reference 103 denotes a recording medium, such as a film, a CCD or CMOS sensor that is arranged on the image-forming surface.
  • the diffractive optical element 1 functions as a lens, and corrects the chromatic aberration caused by the refractive optical element of the image-taking lens 101.
  • the diffractive optical element 1 improves the diffraction efficiency characteristics much better than conventional diffractive optical elements, so that an image-taking optical system is attained, that has little flare light and that has high optical performance and high resolution even at low frequencies.
  • the diffractive optical element 1 has the air layer 10 shown in Fig. 2, so that it is possible to fabricate it with the simple method of manufacturing the diffraction gratings and then gluing them together at their periphery. Consequently, the image-taking optical system is suitable for mass production, and an inexpensive optical system can be provided.
  • the diffractive optical element 1 is provided on a planar glass surface arranged near the aperture stop 102, but the location where the diffractive optical element 1 can be provided is not limited to this. As has been explained before, it is also possible to arrange the diffractive optical element 1 on a concave or convex surface of a lens. It is also possible to provide a plurality of diffractive optical elements 1 inside the image-taking lens 101.
  • the diffractive optical element is used for the image-taking lens of a camera, but there is no limitation to this, and similar effects as explained above can also be attained when the diffractive optical element of the present invention is used for an image-forming optical system that is used for a broad wavelength region, such as the reader lens of an image scanner of an office machine or of a digital copying machine.
  • Fig. 12 shows the structure of one of observing optical systems of a binocular telescope according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.
  • numeral reference 120 denotes the binocular telescope
  • numeral reference 104 denotes an objective lens
  • numeral reference 105 denotes a prism for erecting an inverted image
  • numeral reference 106 denotes an ocular lens
  • numeral reference 107 denotes an evaluation surface (pupil surface).
  • Numeral reference 1 denotes the diffractive optical element explained in Embodiment 1, which is provided with the purpose of correcting chromatic aberrations or the like at an image-forming surface 108 of the objective lens 104.
  • the diffraction efficiency characteristics of the diffractive optical element 1 are improved greatly compared to conventional diffractive optical elements, so that it has little flare light and high resolution and high optical performance even at low frequencies.
  • the diffractive optical element 1 has the air layer 10 shown in Fig. 2, so that it is possible to fabricate it with the simple method of manufacturing the diffraction gratings and then gluing them together at their periphery. Consequently, the observing optical system (or the objective lens system) is suitable for mass production, and an inexpensive optical system can be provided.
  • the diffractive optical element 1 is provided on a planar glass surface, but as in Embodiment 3, it is also possible to arrange the diffractive optical element 1 on a concave or convex surface of a lens. It is also possible to provide a plurality of diffractive optical elements 1 inside the observing optical system.
  • the diffractive optical element 1 is provided inside the objective lens portion 104, but it can also be provided on the surface of the prism 105 or at a location inside the ocular lens 106, and also in this case, similar effects as explained above can be attained.
  • providing the diffractive optical element 1 closer to the object side than the image-forming plane 103 there is the effect of reducing only the chromatic aberration of the objective lens portion 104, so that in the case of an observing optical system for the unaided eye, it is desirable that the diffractive optical element 1 is provided at least in the objective lens portion.
  • this embodiment has been explained for an observing optical system of a binocular telescope, but the diffractive optical element of the present invention also attains similar effects as explained above when applied to observing optical systems of terrestrial telescopes or astronomic telescopes or when applied to the optical finder of a lens shutter camera or a video camera.
  • a layered diffractive optical element including a plurality of diffraction gratings, of which at least one uses a material whose partial dispersion ratio for the g-line and the F-line is smaller than the value on the right in Expression (1), it is possible to increase the diffraction efficiency of a specific order (design order) over the entire wavelength region of incident light (used wavelengths), while favorably suppressing light of unnecessary diffraction orders that may become flare light when captured by the optical system.
  • each of the plurality of the respective diffraction gratings 10 ⁇ m or less, it is possible to attain a high diffraction efficiency with a thin diffraction grating shape, and a diffractive optical element can be realized, with which light of unnecessary diffraction orders that may cause flare light even when provided in an optical system with a wide angle of view can be suitably suppressed.
  • the Abbe number of the material satisfying Expression (1) should be 30 or less.
  • the Abbe number of at least one of the materials of the plurality of diffraction gratings that does not satisfy Expression (1) is set to 40 or more, then the range from which the materials satisfying Expression (1) can be selected becomes broader, which is preferable.
  • a material that satisfies Expression (1) a material that has been obtained by mixing micro-particles of a material with an Abbe number of 15 or less (such as TiO 2 or ITO; particles with a diameter of 1/20 or less of the wavelength of the incident light are particularly suitable) into a resin material (such as a UV curing resin).
  • an element portion made of a diffraction grating and a substrate becomes easier by making the diffraction gratings of the same material as the (transparent) substrate and forming them in one piece with the substrate, and consequently, also the fabrication of a diffractive optical element made by layering a plurality of element portions on one another also becomes easier.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Diffracting Gratings Or Hologram Optical Elements (AREA)
EP03253415A 2002-06-17 2003-05-30 Optisches Beugungselement und damit ausgestattetes optisches System Expired - Lifetime EP1376161B1 (de)

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JP2002176144 2002-06-17
JP2002176144 2002-06-17

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EP1591806A1 (de) * 2004-04-28 2005-11-02 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Diffraktives optisches Element

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JP4411026B2 (ja) * 2002-08-30 2010-02-10 キヤノン株式会社 光学材料及び、光学素子、回折光学素子、積層型回折光学素子、光学系
JP4266732B2 (ja) * 2002-08-30 2009-05-20 キヤノン株式会社 積層型回折光学素子
US20070030484A1 (en) * 2005-08-08 2007-02-08 Acton Research Corporation Spectrograph with segmented dispersion device
KR101288726B1 (ko) * 2005-11-10 2013-07-23 테이진 카세이 가부시키가이샤 광학 소자 및 색수차 보정 렌즈
JP4847351B2 (ja) * 2007-01-11 2011-12-28 キヤノン株式会社 回折光学素子及びそれを用いた回折格子
JP4860500B2 (ja) * 2007-02-13 2012-01-25 株式会社 ニコンビジョン 色消しレンズ系、光学装置
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EP1376161A3 (de) 2005-02-23
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US6930833B2 (en) 2005-08-16

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